What did two years in London teach me?

It feels like it happened yesterday, but on the 13th of September, I will have been living in London for two years. I vividly remember the airport experience and all the farewells. The fear and excitement combined into one, indescribable emotion. It has been an incredible journey and it has taught me a lot.

#1 Do not take anything for granted

Ironing shirts, cooking dinners and managing the budget. I do admit, I started appreciating what I have had at home, once I found myself on my own, at the university halls. It’s really easy to underestimate the perks of staying with parents. Clashing with the reality was a bit dramatic experience, but it’s now my second year of being independent, living over 1,000 miles away from home! Being an adult might be hard, but it has its beauty. In my case, it took a form of one of the best places in the world — London.

My university has recently been named the most diverse in the country. I do pride myself in being the international student. Living in different places, and especially countries, can really teach a lot. It can be really eye-opening, thought-provoking experience and be an asset, while looking for a job. Many London companies work with global clients, executing global campaigns. Employers appreciate insights from around the world. It’s also really good to have the ability to compare things. I can compare the PR industry in London, to that in Warsaw. I can see how the news agenda is shaped in the UK and how it differs from the news agenda in Poland. I can also take some inspiration from the campaigns run back home and see whether that sort of work would work here.

London was always a place I wanted to find myself in. I had this funny feeling in my stomach, while visiting the Capital for the first time. The amount of activities you can do in London is limitless. The hustle and bustle of this city is contagious. Whenever I lack inspiration or motivation, I can always visit Victoria and Albert Museum or Tate (I love both Tate Modern and Britain, but prefer the former). I can go for a run along the Thames, starting from Westminster Bridge, going through Vauxhall, crossing Albert Bridge and rewarding myself with a single espresso in Victoria. One visit in the splendorous Canary Wharf can get my creative juices flowing. I do love the London’s docklands and find them exhilarating.

A photo posted by Marcel Klebba (@marcelkl) on May 3, 2016 at 1:19am PDT

And finally, what I came here for — public relations. London is one of the most important media centres in the world. The amount of agencies, specialising in the different practises, is stratospheric. This was an amazing news for me that meant I could start gaining experience at the smaller agencies, then learn from the biggest companies. London is also buzzing with the great minds and some really helpful practitioners that I managed to meet. In many cases, it just took one email or Twitter DM to grab a lunch or a coffee with someone interesting people. Not forgetting, student-friendly institutions, such as PRCA, always organise plenty free events that I could use as an opportunity to network and learn new things.

Thanks for treating me so well, London!

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If you have any suggestions, would like to guest post or give me a feedback, feel free to email me at kl.marcel [at] gmail.com, tweet me @marcelkl or connect with me on LinkedIn. Thanks for stopping by, have a splendid day!

Author: Marcel Klebba

Junior account executive at a global PR agency, working across the corporate & B2B accounts. Interested in current affairs, tech, and digital.